“So far so good. There are 22 teams and there are few jerseys to be awarded,” he told sporten.dk. “We have one of them, and it is an important jersey. It is one of my favourites, I like it better than the green, though I myself was a sprinter.

“We get on the podium each day and get exposure in the media, it's not a bad start. But it is nothing more than what I expected. I am a businessman, I know what I do.”

Still, Tinkov hopes there will be more to come . “Of course I appreciate the mountain jersey, but I expect a stage win - or two. The squad is perhaps not the strongest team in the Tour de France this year, but it's not the worst. And when you are not riding for the GC, then you have a little easier to go after a stage win,” he said.

Impressed by Mørkøv's participation in escape groups in three consecutive stages, Tinkov tweeted that the Dane deserved a platinum credit card from the Tinkoff Bank. But now he has a better idea: “We will make a polka dot credit card to honour him!”